End of Week 1 (or thereabouts)

So last night was the beginning of the second week of my Crossfit experience.  The first two weeks consist of six "pre-heat" classes that are essentially meant to train us the proper technique for many of the movements we'll be eventually be doing as part of our WOD's (workout of the day).  As I mentioned before, a large part of the program is based on Olympic weighlifting, much of that is based on some form or degree of the squat.  So for the first class, we worked almost exclusively on the squat, as it appears to be the foundation for almost everything that's followed.

For the first class, we did air-squat, deadlifts with the medicine ball and then with a piece of PVC pipe (remember, we're working on form first), box jumps, and that all-time favorite, the burpee.  We then a 5 minute  WOD of as many rounds as possible of 5 squats, 5 deadlifts and 5 burpees.  I got through 3 complete rounds and 5 squats into a fourth before time was called.  Believe me, for a fat arse like myself, that was plenty.

The next two days were very...interesting.  I have run two marathons, repeatedly hiked up a 14K ft Pikes Peak, taken multi-day ski trips, ridden my bike for 20+ miles and played a wide assortment of field and court sports, but never in my life have my legs hurt like they did Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.  From my hips to my knees, it felt like someone had beaten my legs with a baseball bat. I was unbelievable.  I had to shuffle my first few steps when I started walking somewhere, and when I got wherever I was going, I had to just fall into my chair, as I couldn't squat down in to it.  Awesome.

The remaining two classes of the week were more technical work: dead lifts, front squats, cleans, sit ups and a few others.  By the end of the week, I was walking more or less normally, which was nice.

As for the diet, well, suffice to say that before the program started, I weighed in at 285 (clothed, middle of the day, etc.).  Last night I was at 275.  That's good, right?

(And no, I haven't forgotten my promise/threat of pictures.  I'll try to get some up later this week.)

Same thing, only different

So, here's what I'm doing this time around.

Just started a three-month 'Biggest Loser' contest with the boys from work again.  Six of us are in for $50 apiece, with the winner of each month taking a small prize and the bulk of the pot going to the guy who drops the most over the course of the run (measured by percentage of body weight dropped).  While we've done this before, and I've had mixed success (placed 2nd in our first go 'round, won our second, and came in dead last the third time), I've decided I really need to mix it up this time.

Last week I signed up for a 12-week program at a local Crossfit gym, or box if you want to use the preferred lingo.  Chose it for a few reasons.  First, I wanted to do something that could have dramatic results if I do it right, and I needed something that wasn't going to involve a whole lot of pounding on the feets.  I think I may have gotten myself a stress fracture a little over 2 weeks ago when I went out in a basically brand new and very different pair of shoes compared to what I've worn pretty much exclusively since I started this running endeavor a few years back, and decided it would be a good idea to run 10 miles in them.  Proving, once again, I'm an idiot.

So had my first workout in the box last night.  The first two weeks are going to spent largely on learning the various exercises and their proper technique.  Last night was squat, deadlifts, box jumps and burpees.  Worked up a pretty good sweat, and can hardly walk today, I'm so sore.  This is exactly what I asked for, so no complaints.

On the food front, we're basically following a Paleo diet, so breads, grains, beans, dairy and sweets are out.  Fruit is OK early in the day, but lot of protein and endless veggies are bueno bueno.  So far, it's been a lot of eggs, greens and fish, but I'm quickly learning to make new things that fall in the 'acceptable' range.  It becomes even easier when I can use bacon to at least flavor just about anything.  Unlike many folks, I haven't gone through the house and cleaned out all of the verboten foods.  In the past I would've done so, but I need to learn how to live with these things around me, because in a normal life, they'll all be there wherever I go.

Thus far, I haven't had too much trouble staying away from things I shouldn't be eating, but then again I only started this on Saturday.

We'll see how it goes.

Been a long, long time...

So, as you may have guessed, I've fallen pretty hard off the wagon.  I finished '10 in the best shape I'd been in in years, but as the late winter turned to spring turned to hotter 'n hell summer, everything went to shite.  I didn't run the Ascent again this year, I won't be able to get another marathon under my belt this fall without killing myself in the process, and I've put A LOT of weight back on.  I finished '10 saying that, by the end of '11, I wanted to be at or heading toward the best shape of my life.   Well, it's now October, and I'm a fat tub of goo. This will not stand.

The guys from work and I are starting another 'Biggest Loser' contest, similar to the ones we've done three times before.  I came in second the first time, won the second round, and finished dead last when we did it early this spring.  We're kicking this one off on Tuesday, at least partially in the hopes that it'll help us get through the holidays without really going overboard.  What I haven't told them, or anyone else (including CS), is that I've got a little something planned to assist me along.  As part of that endeavor, I plan frequent updates here, describing what I'm doing, what I'm eating and how it's going.  I also plan on including frequent (i.e. weekly) photos.  These will probably be quite embarrassing/disgusting at first, but I'm hoping that it'll be one more motivational tool to get me where I want, and need, to go.

More on those goal, and the efforts to get there, very soon...